


Don't trust me

by Tigi



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:55:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26666284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tigi/pseuds/Tigi
Kudos: 3





	Don't trust me

There was a time before I was who I am now.

There was a time I was just an ordinary mortal, a human being with a family and loved ones.

I wasn't powerful or strong and fast likeI am now.

I was weak and my life would have ended long ago.

If I hadn't changed I wouldn't be able to tell my story and I would never had seen so much of the world.

Because I lived so long, I was abel to see so much countries and meet so many exciting people.

It was a huge blessing and I feel honoured for all this opportunities.

But I was hunted to, I am an outcast.

I am a monster.

Before I became what I am now, I was ordinary but I wasn't bad, I wasn't evil.

Back then I was happy.

.........

Sometimes I remeber it clearly, as if it happened yesterday.  
Sometimes I can't even remember her name.  
It is a curse to live so long it seems then, but he can't get himself to end his life.  
Even when his heart aches and every breath makes his lungs sting he can't give his life up.

Not yet.

.......

The sun was shining for once over Ireland and he was sitting there for once.  
Dreaming of the life he would have.  
I will work and help my father and I will be a good boyfriend, I will show her while I am and what I can do.

She will soon see that I am the right man, that we belong together.  
After that she will surely say yes to me, when I ask her to marry me.  
We will marry, we will move together and we will have children.

,,What are you thinking about?"interrupted a voice his thinking.

,,About you and me."answered Calean.

Looking up from his spot on the grass, looking at her walking towards him.

Slowly she sat next to him her dark brown eyes smiling at him.  
But there was somethingh sad about her too, in the way her smile almost seemed bittersweet.  
As if she knew something he didn't knew.

,,Again?"asked she softly ,,Oh Caelan you know we will never be together, not like this."

Her words were soft and yet firm.  
For she it was already over.  
There relationship already a thingh in the past.  
It made Caelan and angry and disappointed.

How could she just give up?

,,Do you not love me?"asked Caelan angrily his deep brown eyes fuming with anger.

His temper was breaking trough.

,,Of course I do.

But just makes it more difficult."pointed she softly out.

,,No, don't you dare give up.  
Fight with me, fight for our love!"demanded Carkan angrily and stormed off.

He knew she wouldn't follow him, after all they both knew he needed to calm down.

........

Sloane watched him leave.  
the love of my life.  
It sounded strange, but sounded true too, somehow honest.  
Sad, too she had to admit, but she was sure that her heart was big enough to love more than once.

Oh Calean, what are you getting into?  
He had always been stubborn and somtimes couldn't see the reality.  
Especially when reality wasn't what he wanted it to be.

She was remebered off all the stupid things he had done.  
Openly kissing her, even trough it wasn't appropriate.  
Not when it was already clear, they weren't meant to marry each other.

Not with both of them beeing so headstrong.  
She wouldn't change her mind and he wouldn't change his.

As her mother once told her, one of two has to give in in a relationship, so it can work.  
Both of them never would.  
That she loved him didn't meant it made her stupid.  
It just meant she had to be more careful.

She was young and she wanted to be free.  
She didn't wanted to marry.  
Not yet at least.  
Not Caelan.

.........

,,You should start to think of marriage son, not fooling around."reminded his father him.

Once again.

Caelan knew well enough why.  
He was the only child, the heir and he was the one who carried his parents hopes to her a grandchild.  
If he wouldn't continue their bloodline, no one would.

,,I am going to marry Sloane."announced Calean stubbornly gripping the fork he was eating with tightly.  
I am not going to give in, not in this matter.

,,You aren't."told his father him curtly and his mother nodded in agreement.

,,Why not!"challenged Caelan.  
He was just not getting it.

,,She is a stubborn girl.  
Find yourself a more gentle one.."pointed his father out.

Sighing Calean rolled his eyes.  
Stubborn.  
His father favourite argument.

He knew they wanted him to be like them and continue the tradition with beeing a farmer.  
But he wasn't like them.  
He didn't wanted to be like them.

.........

,,This littel village is a littel......small."muttered his friend.

Looking around his friend had an unhappy look on himself.

,,That is exactly what it makes perfect.

It us small and far from everything else.  
There us almost no contact to the rest of the world."pointed he out.

,,But I want contact to the rest of the world."

,,No, you want contact to Isara, that's not the same."snapped Dusk irritated.  
He never understood what his friend found so interesting about Isara.

Never understood love.

,,Maybe it isn't the same, but I would like to write her a letter or one at least.  
She must be worried."

,,Isara? No she probably thinks we are total idiots and is following right now out trail."corrected Dusk him firmly.

,,You might be right about that."agreed Hrishi ,,but I still would like to write her a letter."

.........

,,I want to marry you."

,,I said no."came the annoyed response.

,,Come on, Sloane.  
We both know what we want and I would give up the farm for you if that us what it takes."pointed Caelan out.

,,Really?  
And what would your parents do?  
You can'tjust leave them.  
Plus I still wouldn't marry you!"asked Sloana annoyed.

,,Why?  
Why can't you just marry me?  
You say you love me and yet you won't marry me!"  
...........

,,We need a room."demanded Dusk without any greeting.

To impolite realised Dusk as soon as he saw the frozen on the womans face, but he couldn't bring himself to really care.

,,Excuse my friend, he isn't trying to be so rude, he us just not used to the manners here.

He comes from a nig city, we tend to be more impolite there."explained Hrishi with a smile.

Immediately her eyes softened and she nodded, as if she agreed.

,,Of course, we have a room, or do you want two?"asked the woman looking at Hrishi completely ignoring Dusk.

He was fine with that, if he had a say in it, Hrishi should always deal with the mortals.

,,No, we don't need two rooms, we just would need separate beds, can you manage that?"asked Hrishi and looked at her with that light blue eyes.  
It wasn't even a flirt, that much Dusk knew.  
That was why Dusk didn't got, why everyone was so taken by Hrishi.  
Maybe it was his somehow still so soft character.  
His friendly tone and smile.

,,Sure we can manage that."assured the woman and took a key from the keyboard giving it too Hrishi.

,,Have a good night you two."added the woman then.

,,Thank you very much, I wish the same for you."

..........

,,You are right, this place really is small.'"agreed Dysk and sighed.  
They were looking for a new horse.  
The one Hrishi was currently riding had started to limp.  
Normally nothingh serious and they would only have to wait a littel, before it would heal.

After all it wasn't a serious injury.  
But they didn't had the time, as soon as the one who hunted them would find them, they needed to be ready.  
And that could be any time.

,,So now that it is in your interest to be on a bigger village, you suddenly agree?"questioned Hrushi raising an eyebrow.

,,Of course I do.  
After all not beeing abel writing letters to Isara isn't life threatening.  
But if we can't escape our hunters we could her killed."argued Dusk.

,,But Isara!"

,,That is not an argument."

,,Oh come on, we both now she will come and get us, kick our asses, if I don't write her."pointed Hrishi out.

,,Well she will kick your ass."  
Dusk didn't seemed impressed by the possibility of an angry Isara.

,,Really?  
Why because you could fight her and win?  
We both know that's a lie, Isara is stronger then you."

,,Stronger?"

,,Smarter then."

Now Dusk was glaring dagger at Hrishi.

,,I am sorry."apologized Hrishi.

,,You better be."growled Dusk narrowing his eyes at his best friend.

,,But I was telling the truth."

..........

,,So you and Caelan?"

,,yes."responded Sloane with a sigh knowing what would come.  
She always hated that, knowing what her parents were going to say.  
It was so predictable and....stupid.  
Why couldn't they let her live her life like she wanted?  
It was after all her life.

,,So you are going to marry him?"asked her father now looking up from his plate and looking right at her.  
Every one was looking at her now.  
Every one of them was looking.  
Her mother, her father and all of her siblings (there were six of them).  
And in every face she could see what they were thinking.  
They thought : has Caelan proposed yet?  
Not : has she said?  
Because that wasn't a question, her only answer in their eyes was a yes.

,,No."came her instant answer.

,,So he hasn't proposed yet?"asked her mother worried.

,,He has propesed, but I am not going to marry him."declared Sloane.  
She knew this was one of the things you regret, but still do.  
Because she should have the choice to sat no.  
This shouldn't be Caealans decision, it should be hers too.

But she didn't saw anyone at the table getting it, they all looked equally confused.

,,You said NO?"  
Her father didn't even tried to hide his disbelief.

,,I said no and I am not changing my answer."  
Her voice had gotten that stubborn undertone it often got.

,,You can't, he is your boyfriend?  
Do you know what scandal that is?  
If people will hear about it...?"asked her mother now, backing her husband up.

,,So that us what this all about is?  
About rumours and gossip?  
What us about me, what us with my 9dreams?  
I don't want to be marry yet, okay?  
I want to be free!"snapped Sloane her dark eyes looking as if they had been set on fire.

,,But what do you want if not getting married?  
How do you want to get children?"

,,Well maybe I think maybe I am more then just a child bearer, maybe I can be more.  
I don't know maybe I can ho to university..."

,,That's hilarious, a woman that goes to university you must know that won't happen."interrupted her father calmy.  
His eyes, dark like hers seemed to be the opposite of hers.  
Calm and not on the least worried.  
As if everything she was saying didn't mattered.

..........

The man looked up at the sky.  
It was so beautiful and yet it seemed to laugh at him.

,,What is up that there, that is so distracting?"  
He lowered his head and looked at his partner.  
Her blue eyes looked at him in a curious and ironic way.

,,You know the sky is just......distracting on itself...."

,,Nice explanation Hopeless, really nice explanation."replied Aylin dryly.

,,It is just the sky, okay?  
Look up at it and tell me it isn't beautiful."dared Hopless her.

Aylin raised an eyebrow looked up at the sky looked at Hopeles and said ,,It isn't beautiful."

,,Very funny."muttered Hopeless and changed the subject ,,How long till we reach then, what do you think?"

,,Maybe three days, maybe a week.  
It is kind of hard to tell, it depends on them, if they will stop and try to hide or if they will try to outrun us."

,,Ok, but if you had to say either the one or the other, which do you think more likely?"

,,I think, they will go to a littel Village, try to hide their and if we still find them, they will try to kill us."explained Aylin.

,,So basically we are riding into a trap?"

,,Yes."

,,Ok, just wanted to be on the same page as you."

.........

She had begun to miss him.  
For once she had found a man she really thought with her time and he had to get himself into trouble.  
Of course it was actually Dusk who got them in trouble, but still......  
There were so many man out there she could have, but she had finally found one she really liked.

Narrowing her eyes she looked up at the sky.  
It was beautiful.  
But it couldn't distract her from the fact, that her lover and Dusk were beeing hunted by two really dangerous individuals.  
She didn't liked that.

.............

,,Do you really think they won't find us?"asked Hrishi after a while.  
They were sitting in Dusks room and they were talking. (Or more correctly Hrishi was talking and Dusk occasionally said yes or no.)

,,No."  
Dusk didn't bothered to even look up at Hrishi, he just was lying on his bed on his back not moving.

,,Ok, so what are we going to do?"asked Heishi hoping for a longer answer.

,,Don't know."  
That wasn't the answer he would luke to hear.

,,What about a plan? I would like tha very much? Any ideas?"

,,plans are overrated."

,,Really?, I for once like them, they don't have to perfect and most of them don't work.....but still I like to have a plan.  
I like to know that I at least tried....you know?"

,,No."  
Well he could have expected that, thought Hrishi.  
After all this was Dusk, the vampire who was.....Dusk.  
Impulisive and yet calm, not exactly planning things but not just doing reckless things either.  
Cold and distant, and still (at least in Hrishis opinion) a good friend.

,,What about a strategy? We could prepare some stuff, for when they find us, we could fight them."

,,They will kill us."  
There wasn't a question or any doubt in that. Not the slightest hint of that, just a simple statement.  
They will kill us.  
Hrishi liked that sentence not the last bit.

,,Ok, then we shouldn't face them alone."

,,Yes."

It hadn't really been a question, but Dysk still wandered.  
Somewhat baffled Hrisji looked at his friend.  
For once was Dusk was smiling, but it wasn't a nice smile.

............

,,Why do you still say no?"asked Caelan furiously.

,,Why can't you just leave me be?  
I have a right to say no! Ok?  
Just for once think of it, from my point of view ok?  
I want to be free, for a littel longer, I don't want to marry yet, I don't want to have a husband.  
I don't want kids yet.  
I want to be me....  
I want to work and travel, I want to learn things and I want to be free.  
Simply free.  
Why do I have to marry you?"  
It had been a long speech and a furious one too.  
But Sloane couldn't keep her anger to herself any longer.  
She wanted to tell everyone, everyone who dated asking, why she wasn't married.

,,Because I want to be your husband.  
I want to be together with you for the rest of my life."declared Cealan.

,,Well maybe not it just feels like losing Cealan.  
Everyone ask or whispers about how I am not married yet.  
That I have to get a husband and all.  
But I don't want it to be their decision, I want to make the decisions in my life.  
I want to call the shots."

,,Well can't you just call the shots and marry me?"asked Caelan frustrated.

,,I fear not."

.............

,,Were are we going?"asked Hrishi while he followed Dusk. ,,I have a plan."deackated Dusk. ,,Great care to tell me about it? Or you know what, don't bother, let's just get back, ot is soon going to be dark and you know what thus means."pointed Hrishi out. ,,We aren't going back." ,,Wait what? So I didn't thought you had a syringe with the serum with you." ,,I have one." ,,Only one, you do know that I would need one too? " Hrishi felt confused and somhow angry, he didn't liked to be left in the dark. ,,Not tonight, tonight you won't need one." Dusks voice was steady and strong, certain. ,,No, no you can't.......you can't be serious, that can not be your plan." Their was realisation in Hrishis voice and denying too. ,,I am almost sorry." ,,Dusk, don't......." ,,Why not, that is who we are and what we are, it is in our nature." ,,You can't be serious. Maybe that is your point of view, but....I think I can be more then what my Vampire nature makes me. I want to be more...." ,,Well tonight you aren't going to." With that Dusk took the syringe out of his coat and injected in one fluid moment. ,,why? Why just not do it yourself." ,,Because somone needs to remind you of who and what we are."

...........

Caelan took a long way back home, he needed time to think it all through.  
Sone smart part, got what Sloane had said, got at least the basics of it.  
But the biggest part of him was angry at her.

Why couldn't she just just agree on marrying him?  
Why couldn't she make that decision?

While he walked and made his way Dusk came and the sky turned from a pale blue to a dark purple and then to a soft black.

Sighing he looked up at the sky.  
Now at night it was it was beautiful.  
Looking back down again he saw the house of his family, standing there.  
Somehow he felt relieved to see it, to look at it and know that he still had his home left.  
His parents and his siblings.  
At least they weren't so complicated.

He could see the faint lights in the windows, probably only on fir a littel longer, before they would put the flames out.  
If Caelan wanted to reach his home before the light would be put out he would have to hurry.

So he decided to hurry a littel bit.  
After all he didn't had the slightest intention to walk in the dark.  
I bet Sloane wouldn't be afraid, thought Caelan.  
But he wasn't Sloane and he was afraid of the drak.

That was why he was si relieved when he reached the door and opened it without knocking.  
After all he didn't wanted to stay another second outside.  
Maybe that was what saved his life.

The first thingh he saw was the blood.  
It practically dropped from the ceiling down on the floor.  
It was a horrific sight.  
Blood everywhere and then there was this.....creature pale and with huge black eyes looking at him and recognising him as ..... prey.  
There was no other way to put it.  
Looking in these deep, dark eyes Cealan knew that this was his end.  
There was no escape anymore, he knew that he could never outrun it.

But still.  
Shaken the frozeness our of his lumps he turned towards the stairs and run.  
The fighting part was the he didn't heard it.  
There was no way of knowing whether it was directly behind him or hadn't even moved.  
There was the bear of his racing heart and his lungs starting to burn.

And then it hit him, took him directly down, not even bothering to kill him directly.  
Not that it couldn't, Calean was perfect aware that it could kill him anytime.  
But when he got up again and run, it didn't followed.

Even when he slipped on the blood tha covered the stairs, it didn't attacked again.  
For a second he made the mistake of looking at the correct that was lying on the stairs.  
But instantly he saw away again, he just couldn't make the connection between his sister and this......  
There was no way that his sister had become this...

She must have had the same idea as him, but she didn't made it.  
The both of them took the strait that lead to the cellar, a room secured by the heaviest and strongest door.  
The only door that had even a hint of a chance against this pale thingh.

When he finally reached the end of the stairs, it took him some time to open the door.  
His hands were full with sweat and more then once he slipped.  
But he tried frantically until he got a good grip and dragged it open.  
When he finally slipped trough the door, in the room behind, he cought one last glimpse.  
Its huge black eyes looked down at him.  
Somehow Caelan understood then, that this wasn't some random decision.  
Even trough it could have killed him, he still lived.

And it wasn't any kind of mercy, because this creature didn't knew the meaning of the word.  
Neither it was because the creature wasn't hungry anymore.  
Because it hadn't been hungry in the first place, it had killed for the pure sake of it.

Only when the door closed behind him, Caelan breathed out.  
The second he wasn't in danger anymore the tears started running.

........

,,What kind of trap will they prepare, what do you think?"asked Hopeless finally.  
They were surting around the fire and both of them were trying desperately not to think about what was probably happening right now.  
Tried to not think what two loose vampires at the time of the night did.

,,They are probably preparing right now.  
They know we are coming."replied Aylin looking up and meeting Hopeless eyes.  
Both of them shivered when there glares met.  
Looking into each others eyes they could see the truth in them.  
They would come to late.

...........

His heart skipped a beat when he heard the sound of foot steps.  
For a moment he wanted to opened the door and yell to whoever's was out there that he was in here.  
That whoever's of his family had survived had to come in here and survive with him.  
But he froze in his movement.  
No way that he would open that door that would only kill both of them.  
It was an ugly thought, bit a logic one too.  
What sense was there, after all in dying with your family?

If one if them could save themselves they should.

But thre was no reason to worry realised Calean a littel later, the food steps continued.  
The person had just entered realised Calean and now he was walking around.  
His heart beat increased when he realised another thingh.  
Who ever that was didn't got attacked by the pale creature.  
The person moved trough the rooms and then upstairs.  
Slowly Calelan realised what he was doing and more tears fall down his cheeks.  
He is checking that everyone is dead, realised Cakealn.  
He is looking if the monster really got everyone.  
Every last of them.

And when he realises that still live.......  
Suddenly his heart beat raced again and he had supress the urge to get up, open the door and try to feel.  
But he knew there was no sense in that.  
He had to try and hide in here.  
Had to hope that the person wouldn't change downstairs.

And suddenly the sound of the foot steps stopped.  
Slowly Calelan exhaled, not even aware that he had hold his breath.  
But it felt like such a relief to finally.....

,,Unbelievably what happend, isn't it?"  
The voice was cold and still amused.

Calean tensed, not moving, hoping that the man would maybe move on, maybe think......

,,I can hear your heart beating, you know?  
And I know that you know that I am not the only one out here."

Calean still said nothing.  
The tears falling silently.

,,He is still searching for somethingh to kill, you know?  
I bet that every bet or animal of any kind you have is dead by now or on the way to it."

The voice was cold, in a matter of fact way.

,,You may wonder why I talk to you."  
Then the voice paused.

I just want you to stop talking, thought Calean.

,,Three days from know you will be like him....like us.  
Unless you find a big, nice knife and end it right now."

Your a liar thought Calean.  
I will never be like that monster, I will never be this...thingh.

,,I am not lying. Three days, unless you end it now. Don't get me wrong, we need you, but it will take us only a littel to effort to make hundreds more of your kind."

.........

His father.  
Dead.  
His mother.  
Dead.  
His brother.  
Dead.  
His sister.  
Dead.

And he?  
Alive.  
Of all it had to be him...., why not his sister, with her happy smile?  
She was so young and just by looking at her, you know she would embrace every second of her life  
She would and she had loved her life to her fullest, always so positive.  
Why not his brother always thinking and hesitating, always thinking how he could make things better, always trying his best...  
Why not he?  
Why not his mother?  
Why not his father?

Why him?  
Had he just come at the right time?  
Once again he closed his eyes in terror and if he could have, he would have cried.

,,you know that it is still time."remarked the man on the other side of the door.

,,For what?"asked Caelan with a sob.  
There was no time anymore, after all for what should there be time for?  
He was to late to save his family....

,,You can still end it.  
When I was turned.....I didn't knew I had to make a decision, but you can.  
Three days from now you will be like us....."

,,I will never like you."  
A simple matter of fact.

,,Three days from now and you will."  
A promise.

,,How can I stop that from happening?"

,,Can you fell how hot your skin is?  
It is the infection in you.  
It is spreading.  
The only way now is.....kill yourself."  
There was no real hesitation just a littel pause.  
As if the man was thinking back to his ,,turning,,.

For a moment Caelan wanted to argue back, tell them that he wasn't going to be like them.  
That he wouldn't be ever aurder.  
A monster.  
And that he wouldn't do their job for them, that they would have to kill him themself.

.......

Its huge black eyes darted trough the night, searching for the next possible victim.  
Because everything here was dead.  
Nothingh left to kill.

Moving around it looked, it heared.  
Nothingh.  
For a moment it froze as if trying to make a plan how to catch the next victim.  
Who was next?  
Then it cought a smell, a scent from its last victim.  
An image flashed trough it mind.  
A boy with dark hair and eyes.  
The one he let life a littel longer.  
For not even a second, his human mind came to the surface, remembering him why the boy had to life.

Because we need him.  
We can't kill him.  
We should go back we killed enough.....

But the Vampire was in charge now, completly in charge.  
Not just under the surface anymore.

With smooth movements it began hunting again.

..........

He felt sick.  
Not only mentally anymore,but physically too.  
His body was covered in sweat and the blood had started to flow again.  
Not good.  
But he couldn't stop it.

,,What is happening?"  
A question only, but deep down Caelan already knew.  
He just couldn't accept it.

,,You are turning."

His skin seemed so hot and he felt like he was burning from the inside.  
As if somone was burning him from the inside.

..............

It wasn't hard to follow the smell to the place were the boy had meet a girl.  
For a moment it stopped there, taking the scent in.  
Once again a helpless cry echoed trough its head.

No, don't don't make me a killer........  
Turn around.

But the sound faded soon enough and it turned its head, with the pitch black eyes in the direction the girl had come from and later went back too.

Time for its next victim.

........

The moment Sloane opened her eyes, she knew something was wrong.  
No one of her family was ever awake after they went to bed, it was like an unspoken rule.  
As if they had agreed on it and then forgot all about it.

But even if somone of her family was making these sounds it was......wrong.

Getting up, she pulled the blanket from herself.  
Trying her best not to awake her littel sister she climbed out of bed.

A door opened slowly, she could hear it and somhow it creeped her out.  
Nobody could have entered without making a sound.......  
You had to go trough the door or the windows and both ways meant you had to make a certain amount of noise that would have woken up.  
It couldn't be somone from the outside.....

A scream exploded in the night, only for a second then it went quit again.  
Only to make place for a heavy sound, the sound of a body falling to the ground.  
And then the sound of teeth cutting trough skin and the sound of .......swallowing......

Immediately Sloanes heart began to race and she froze.  
But only for a second.  
They needed to get save, without anymore hesitation she went to the bed grapped her sister and fled.

She knew she wouldn't have much time.  
The intruder must have somehow gotten in and opened the first room that was available.  
Her parents room.  
Two bedrooms were upstairs and three downstairs.  
Her parents and four of her siblings were down there.  
Dying.  
She and her littel sister shared a room.

She couldn't help them dow there, but she could save her siblings and she intended too.

As quit as possible, she entered her littel brothers room and pulled him out of bed.  
She wasn't gently doing so, but she just had no time.

It all seemed to happen in only a few seconds graping her siblings.  
Then she put them in the big closet, hoping there they would be save.

,,Stay save."orderd Sloane, before she turned around.

She could see the fear in their eyes and the hopelessness.  
They were much to young for this.

But she couldn't change what was, closing the door, she turned around.  
And walked away.  
She knew what had to be done.

...............

Its head went up and turned when it heard, somone get down.  
Its huge black eyes darted to the door which stood ajar and it got up gracefully, ignoring the corpse on the floor.  
It had a new prey.

..........

Sloabe had never seen somethingh like it, so gracefully and strong.  
Moving like a cat only......bigger and more dangerous.  
As soon as she saw it she turned around and ran.

Not because she was stupid enough to think she could outrun it, but because she knew that the closet her siblings were hiding in wasn't strong enough to protect it from ......this.

The moment she left the house, she knew it was over.  
She knew it, because there was nowhere to hide, nowhere to go and no weapon available that could stop....this.  
It was going to be her end.  
But maybe not the end of all of her siblings, she could hope at least.

Realisation hit her fully when she looked at the sky.  
So wide and beautiful, and probably the last thingh I will ever see.

Then it hit her.  
Claws and fangs cut her skin opened, blood elapsed trough the air.  
She was going to dy, she knew it then.

Its teeth opened her neck and it swallowed her blood in deep sips, not even bothering to kill her.  
With one last effort of strength, she turned around and hit it with her elbow .

It must have been the pure suprise, that its victim was still fighting back, whatever it was it was so startled that she actually managed to distract at from her fir a second.

Then dawn came.  
Her eyes wandered to the beautiful sight of it.  
Then everything went black.

..................

It human skin grew back and with a his the Vampire once again made place for its human part.

Hrishi opened his eyes and looked down st himself.  
Red.  
Blood.  
Without any hesitation he threw up next to himself.  
It left a bitter taste in his mouth and an even bitter knowledge in his mouth.

Turning his head around he saw a girl not far from him, blood flooding out of the wounds on her back and the bite wounds.  
I did this, realised Hrishi.  
Slowly the memories flowed trough him, not that he remebered everything.  
But it was enough for him to hate himself.

Closing his eyes and tears falling down, he tried to banish the thought of the ones he killed out of his head.  
But it didn't worked.  
Everything he could remember was......there death.

Opening his eyes he realised that the girl was still breathing.  
I can save her, thought Hrishi, not from beeing infected, but I can save her from dying.

So he stood up, ready to walk over to her and realised that he was ........naked.

Of course, thought Hrishi with a sigh and ge turned around and walked to the house.  
As soon as he entered he could smell even more blood it had a metallic smell, haunting him.  
Remembering him of what he had done.  
Ignoring the corpses he went straight to the closet in what he presumed to be the master bedroom.

Whipping himself clean with some clothes and putting some others actually on, he tried to make himself represent able.  
Not that it really worked.  
Taking some clothes out, to later rip them apart and make band aids out of them, he went out.

A littel later he thought himself ready and stepped out again.  
At least she is still breathing, thought Hrishi and did his best to save her.  
To undo what he had done.

.........

Waking up was a surprise, the pain wasn't.  
Looking up she looked in the face of a man who looked shaken.  
The man who had killed her family.  
Tears were streaming down his face and his dark, brien eyes looked much to nice to belong to a killer.

I am alief, because he us saving me, realised Sloane.

,,I am so sorry."apologised the man his eyes dark, brown and sad.  
Not black like they had been in the night.  
And his skin was pale not the sake pale as it had been in the night.

,,You are a Vampire."realised Sloane then.

The words made the man look away, as if he was ashamed.

,,I fear I am and.....I fear you are going to be one soon too."

.............

As soon as it was over Dusk, let the new infected out.  
He broke the door just open, he knew he could have ordered the boy to do it, but it would have taken yo long.  
Dusk had waited for dawn and there it was.  
No reason to wait any longer.

.........

,,I hatte to ride into a trap."

,,I know that by know."muttered Aylin and rolled her eyes.

,,What do you think how many infected do they have by now?  
A dozen, a hundred, a thousand?"

,,Don't you dare freak out Hopeless."

,,I am not freaking out."

,,Then stopp sounding like you are."

,,Ok."

,,But you must admit that if there is a reason that justified freaking out, riding in a trap would be that reason."

Once again Aylin rolled her eyes.

,,I saw that."grumbled Hopeless.

,,That is going to be a long day."sighed Aylin.

,,And I heard that too."

..........

Three days and you are turned.

Calean could almost feel it, could almost feel himself getting free of the chains that made him and witless infected.  
Almost.  
For his liking the three days were much to long away.

,,Don't look so impatient."reminded Dusk him and for a second Calean had ti fight the urge to smile.  
Just to show him that he wasn't impatient.  
But that part was completely infected.  
There was still enough of him left to think and ignore such comments.  
But a command, an order would be impossible to ignore.  
Only a few hours to go.  
It would be his first time as a vampire.  
As a monster.

Every time he thought about this night, all he could see before his eyes was the image of his family.  
Of their corpses.

At least he knew that they were buried, he had done it himself together with Sloane, the first order Dusk gave them.  
Dusk.  
He definitely didn't liked that man, even trough he wasn't the one that killed his family, he seemed to be in charge.  
In his eyes lay no guilt, no warmth or kindness.  
No, quite the opposite was true of Dusks eyes.  
Sometimes Carlan could even swear to see the pitch black shade of colour in Dusk eyes.  
The monster always only a ste p beneath the surface ready to break out.

Hrishi was quite diffrent.  
His eyes were dark too, but kind and warm and thre never was a hint of what was hiding in them.  
What monster he was.  
And it wasn't all a farce, Calean could tell it from the way Hrishi had apologised ever since he turned back human.  
Not only with words, but with his sad smiles and the way he always stood up for them in front of Dusk.  
He was the one that killed Caelans family and the one that spared him.

Calean couldn't decide which one of the two he hated more.

,,As soon as you are a vampire there is a code."  
Oh God damn it, not that again.  
Since the day they Dusk had broken the door open and ordered him to follow him, he had lectured Caelan about that.  
As if the Code was something holy.  
As if it suddenly meant that Vampires were honest, good and nice just because they had a code.  
Don't kill other Vampires.  
Congratulation, thought Caelan what a honourable code.  
In his eyes killing one another was the barest of the bare minimum.  
But well, for them it was probably difficult to not kill everyone and everything.

...........

Sloane didn't liked it.  
Not the slightest, not only that her family had been killed but now this too.  
She could see the anger in Caelans eyes and she felt like she was watching him falling.  
Becoming truly one of them......like Dusk.  
The one vampire she truly despised.

It was strange, she thought.  
Hrushi killed hr family, but she still liked him better.  
Maybe it was because he showed guilt.  
Dusk never did.  
And he saved what was left of my family thought Sloane.  
Sighing she closed her eyes and remebered how it had been to take her littel siblings and to give them away.  
It had been quite easy, she just had to give them to her aunt in the next village, only a few hour away.  
She had told her that her parents were dead and that was it.  
No, questions had been asked, maybe because her aunt didn't wanted to know or maybe because she sensed something was off.

Whatever it was, she couldn't bring herself to care about her siblings.  
They were safe.  
What really mattered was the future.  
Only hours from now she would be a monster.  
Like them.  
Killing parents and children.  
Taking lifes.  
Destroying them.  
Making the world a sadder place.  
I can't do this.

.............

Sitting outside of the house, were once Caleans family lifes, Hrishi tried to comprehend what happend.  
Even now after almost three days, he couldn't understand it.

When he had turned, it had been awful and he hah voted to never again take a human life like this.  
Never again he would kill parents and children, without reason.  
Random.  
Ending lifes, just for the statisfication of ending one.  
Never again.

,,This can never happen again."  
It was a thougt said out loud and a promise at the same time.  
Because it couldn't happen again.  
Nit after he had to see that part of him again.  
That part that had so much fun to kill.  
Nothingh had ever felt so good, as tasting this fresh blood in his tongue.  
Nothingh was as sweet as the scent of fear had been.

,,It won't have to."  
For a second Hrishi almost flinched.  
Lost on thought as he was, he hadn't heard Dusk approaching.

,,It won't."  
Pointed Hrishi out.  
Because the way Dusk said it, made it seem like it had been necessary in the first place.  
As if these people died, because Dusk thought that they needed a few infected.

But Hrishi thougt diffrent.  
It couldn't and wouldn't happen again.  
He would make sure of it.

............

,,So were do you think they are hiding, setting up there trap?"asked Hopeless raising an eyebrow.

,,If you say once again, the order trap, I'll punch you."threatened Aylin, narrowing her blue eyes.

,,Ok, but still?"

,,Well, if I were them, I would find a place to stab Inn or something resembling it at least."replied Aylin with a shrugg.

,,Ok, then let us search for the tra......Vampires."

............

,,They have come."announced Dusk and got up.  
Nobody bothered asking how he knew, they just all got up as well.  
It was time.

...........

,,It almost seems like you have finally give up.  
Surrender and a fair trial will await you."offered Aylin.

,,We will decline your "fair" trial."replied Dusk without hesitation.  
All of them knew that a trial would end with execution.  
No one in the sanctuary cared to let vampires life, after they had done anything wrong.

,,Well then let it begin."muttered Hopeless and added,, were is your trap?"

,,Why do you think we have a trap?"questioned Dusk ,,that us typically, just because we are Vampires you think we are completly bad.  
You think we have no honor and that we would of course set a trap "

,,So there is no trap?"asked Aylin with an raised eyebrow.

,,That is beside the point."snapped Dusk.

,,Let us just start with the fight, ok?  
Because this is getting to philosophical for my liking."interrupted Hopless.

,,Agreed."muttered Dusk and charged.

It wasn't night yet and he hadn't she his skin, but he didn't really needed too.  
He was scary all the same.

But Aylin could be scary a same, were only a second before stood a short woman with blue eyes was now a cougar.  
Baring its teeth and growling and then it jumped too.

Vampire and cougar meet midway, still in the air and instantly went fir each other throats.

Hopeless himself went fo the other Vampire.  
The one with dark hair and sad eyes.

There was no trap in sight, but Hopeless didn't let himself get fooled by that, there certainly was one.  
There must be one.

............

They waited, like they had been told.  
And when the right moment came, they emerged.

Neither if them had been trained to fight, but then they didn't needed too.  
The sheer presence of them, changing the balance if the numbers was on itself enough.  
They were winning and Dusk was coming.

Nether once had Sloane so much regretted winning.

But then she had always believed in what she fought for.  
In this she didn't believed.  
She couldn't.  
Not after she had seen the guilt on Hrishis face, after he killed almost all off her family.  
Not after Dusk never showed the slightest hint of guilt, never once appearing concered about all the lives he took and destroyed.  
She couldn't be like them.  
Never.

Looking at her enemies, she knew that she was on the wrong side.  
There was defeat in their eyes, but they still thought.  
Because they believed in what they fought for.

............

They were both dead.  
All of them knew it, the sun would soon go down and they weren't even close to defeating the Vampires.  
Not that they could, not even while they were in their human form, reckoned Aylin.  
And as soon as the sun was down, they would die.  
Maybe even sooner.

Outnumbered from the four voires, they both had to fight against two enemies.  
Not even in her cougar form with claws and fangs she could defeat the two Vampires.

She had always loved her ability to shape shift into a cougar. Every time she did it, she felt home and at peace.  
As a cougar she was faster then she could ever dream of to be as a human, stronger to of course.

There was nothingh resembling the experience of beeing a cougar, nothingh resembling being so wild and free, not depended on anyone.  
Humans need a ceiling over their head, they need to cook and they need to socialize.  
A cougar doesn't need company and when they get hungry they hunt.

But not even a cougar could defeat a vampure and an infected.  
And soon it would be two Vampires in their actual Vampire form.

They were going to die.  
No way they would win the fight.  
No way they could run.

.............

They were winning.  
He should be celebrating over this, after all of roles were reversed they would not hesitate.  
After all they were vampires and thus heart and soulless monsters in their eyes.  
Still.  
He couldn't feel anything but regret and guilt when he looked at them.

So much he lives took and yet he still had to take more.  
For what?  
Just to keep on living, was that rely enough of a reason to kill them?  
To end their lives?

While he moved around Hopeless, together with Sloane they both doing their best to kill him, he got doubts.  
He could see no fear in the eyes of this man, but he knew it must be there.  
How could he kill this man?  
What if he had family?  
Damn it, even if he had no family, what was with his future? His dreams?  
What would Hrishi destroy what could have been in the future if he killed this man?  
Who were this mans loved ones?  
Did this man had siblings, caring for him?

What would Hrishi destroy killing this man.  
A unique live, he knew.  
No one would ever be again, like the man he was trying to kill.

...........

Dusk enjoyed every second if the fight.  
Would he have been alone maybe he wouldn't, he would probably have to run for it or risk losing the fight.  
After all she was good, a shape shifter and a good one too.

Even with Calean on his side she was keeping them at a distance her was only missing them by an half inch.  
But not long before they would have claws and fangs too and then she would be done.  
As soon as the sun was down they would win.  
And they would kill.  
Lookimg at his soon to be victims, Dusk smiled.

............

Caelan couldn't believe his new strength and speed.  
Taking full advantage of his new abilities he fought side by side with Dusk.

Calean knew exactly what he would do as soon as he was a real voice. As soon as he was turned.  
Looking at Dusk and seeing the smile on his face he shuddered.  
He knew that he was going to be like this, with a littel time going by.  
The cold look in Dusk eyes would be in his too and maybe one day he would smile when he knew that he was going to kill.  
Just like Dusk.  
A cold and heartless monster.  
At first he had resented that thought, but a littel later he did understood tha there weren't only disadvantage.  
For one, he would be immortal.  
No human beeing would be as strong and swift as he was.  
Only another Vampire or whatever these two guys fighting them were, could stand a chance against him.

But even trough he saw all the advantages he couldn't ignore the fact that they killed his family.  
His loved ones.  
Every time he closed his eyes they were there, their faces haunting him.  
Never, he would forget them, he was sure of it.  
And he would too never gorget who killed them, who ended their life.  
And he would never forget who planned it all cold blooded.

...............

,,Let us call it a draw."

The words were spoken and everyone heard them.  
They were spoken in a soft and calm voice, clear and audible.  
Yet everyone ignored it.  
Primarily the vampureschad no intention of stopping, which didn't left their two opponents with much of a choice.  
Either fight or die.  
They rather wanted to live and carried on to fight.

But then as if to underline his words the speaker stopped attacking and took a step back.  
Obviously trying to pressure the rest of them to stopp.  
Hoping for a short break from the fight.

,,What are you doing, we are winning."hisseed Dusk furiously.

,,Maybe, but I don't care. I don't want to win Dusk. Not anymore."replied Hrishi calmy and his dark eyes looked so sad.  
Maybe he was thinking of what he was giving up.  
Of Isara and there future together that would never come true if he died now.

But the most part of him was probably tired.  
Tired of beeing hunted.  
Tired of killing.  
Tired of destroying.  
Tired of beeing a monster.

Dusk saw his friend in the eyes and knew at once that Hrishi wouldn't fight at his side anymore.  
At once he understood that his friend had given up when it came to tighten.  
Some part of him even understood it.  
Understood the desire to give and not to take, understood how it was to be loved and loved.

But the most part of him would never understand and never forgive.  
Because Hrishi was betraying him.  
This man realised Dusk wasn't his friend anymore, he was a mere stranger.  
Never could they be friends again unless one of them would change again, because they were to diffrent now.  
In Hrishis eyes was a longing for peace and it was a soft and warm longing.  
The desire of a man who was tried of death and ready to live.

And Dusk eyes were still unsettling cold.

................

Raising her head Aylin looked in suprise at the vampire. She had never heard of such a thingh.  
Hell, maybe this was the first time.  
A vampire unable to kill.  
Even age had understood that sometimes it was necessary to kill, but never for fun.  
As a skinchanger and thus as a cougar she knew killing was necessary but not something you should enjoy.

Every time she had looked at a vampire she had seen no mercy or humanity.  
Looking into a Vampires eye usually meant to look into cold, merciless eyes.  
Ready to kill.

But Hrishis eyes were diffrent.  
They were warm and soft and........human.  
Not like the rest of them....

Still he was her enemy.  
But she wouldn't kill him, she knew that.  
She couldn't.  
Not after she thought thre was the possibility that he had changed.  
Hell maybe he hadn't changed.  
Maybe he had been always like that.  
But to sum it up......he wasn't innocent, but neither had he done enough to deserve to die.  
Dusk was the one they were after.  
Not him.

............

Hopeless stopper.  
He froze.  
That almost never happened.  
After it had happened once in battle and almost cost his life, he made sure it would never happen again.  
But there he was again.  
Totally surprised and unable to move.

An vampire trying not to kill........  
All he could think of when he looked into these huge black eyes, was that they must lie.  
Because the eyes seemed warm.....even caring.  
But all he could think of were the corpses of people murdered by vampires.  
All he could see, when he looked at this man trying to make the right thingh......  
Was blood, murder and loved ones he lost to vampires.

I can't see behind that realised Hopeless.  
All I see is what all the ones before him did.  
All I can see is what monster he could become.  
And I can't see what man he could be, how caring or good he could be.  
All I see is a murderer.  
Bit he seems so much more.  
It wasn't that Hopeless couldn't see that Hrishi could be more.  
He just couldn't accept it.  
His own experiences and prejudges weighed him down.

...............

In the end they all went separate ways and did it even fast enough to avoid blood shed.

,,Maybe we should have fought, after all there are people in this village. People who could get injuried."  
Aylin carefully avoided the word die, but they both knew that there was the possibility of that.  
With vampires there was always the possibility of that.  
She had changed back into her human form.

,,We couldn't have won. We saved our lives and that must be enough. More we couldn't do."

,,We can't stay."  
She said it as a matter of fact and both of them knew it.  
Still it had to be said.  
It had to be out spoken to be true for the both of them.  
They couldn't fight these vampires.  
Not now that there were four of them and they easily could make more.  
Not thus time it was best to leave them alone, or else they would flee again and infect more innocent people, in a way of trying to outnumber them.

,,We have to go."  
This time Hopless spoke out the ugly truth.  
The rules and rules had changed.  
Both of them had to face it.  
They had come as hunters to this village and they left as prey.

If they stayed to long they might end as food or worse as a part of the ones who were now the hunters.

,,We have to and fast."

Both of them just accepted that fact and quitted speaking.  
Moving swift and fast trough the dark night, that had finally settled over the village they went to their horses.

Quitly they left.  
Feeling like cowards and ashamed.  
They knew they did the right, the logic thingh.  
It didn't made them feel better trough.

.................

Waking up was like a nightmare coming to live.  
Thre was blood.  
And there were corpses.  
This time now tears filled Sloanes eyes, when she stood up.  
Not even when she could taste the blood in her mouth.  
She just spat it out and walked around.  
Looking at the ones she had killed.  
Relief flooded trough her when she looked down and saw fur.  
Sheepskin.  
No humans.  
Not this time.  
What a relief.  
Breathing out, she felt like a weigh fell from her shoulders.  
This time she had murdered no one.  
She wasn't a monster.  
Not yet.

But looking at the blood around her, at the opened corpses, which were ripped apart .....  
She knew she was going to be one.  
Soon.

,,It is always hard, isn't it?"asked a now familiar voice.

Looking over to her right she saw, a familiar man looking at her .  
Dark brown eyes, filled with guilt and grief.

,,Will it ever get better?"

,,over time your feelings will become number, until one day it seems impossible to fell anything..........  
And then much later you will wake up and ask yourself, whafhave I become?"  
A sad smile spread over the dark haired man features as he said that.  
There was no joy and no reasssuren.  
Just the cold hard truth.  
Sloane got the feeling she would have preferred a lie.

,,I can't be this."realised Sloane.  
Lookimg at the corpses around her that easily could have been human.  
That would be human.  
She could even remember it.  
Killing them, ripping them apart.  
And she remebered that there wasn't even one second where she hesitated.  
Not even a thought if hesitating.

,,Neither can I."told her Hrishi.

Looking at him she understood.  
Thre was still one way out.

............

,,I will talk to him."offered Hrishi.

,,Are you sure?"asked Dusk.  
It was a tried question, more out of reflex then real concern.  
They both knew that they may have survived, but there friendship hadn't.

,,I am."replied Hrishi.

Dusk said nothingh.  
But his eyes said it all, he knew.  
And when Hrishi turned around he did and said nothingh.

...........

Sloane had decided what she would do.  
She had accepted who she was now and what.  
There was no way to change it anymore.  
This was the way she was going to be for the rest of her life.  
But she would still make her own choices.  
She wouldn't just give up, surrender to the monster inside her.  
She would fight.  
And she intened to win.

Following the two soccers hadn't been hard.  
Not with her excellent dances.  
Catching up with them was even more easy.

Now came the hard part. She had to attack. In order for her plan to work, she would need to try to kill them. As soon as she actually saw them she knew it was final.

That she would change her mind, seemed impossible to her. Seeing them, she knew they had taken notice of her too. Maybe the skinchanger had sharpened scenes, or maybe it was part of the mans magic.

Either ways, they seemed like they were preparing for a fight. They didn't made an attempt to cover it up,they just stopped and started to get down from there horses.

They were preparing. Sloane concluded she didn't needed to prepare. She was ready. After they had stopped it took her only then minutes to get to them. There was no hesitation, when she attacked. She saw no sense in it.

Neither plan nor strategy was needed from her to attack. She let her new instincts take over. Maybe if she had been older and wiser she would have been a problem for them. Her movements were swift and strong and she was smart for a girl from the land.

But she was inexperienced and without any knowledge too. With Dusk and Hrishi at her side, she had been the one outnumbering and powering them. But now alone? She was losing. And the was no sadness in her.

The man had a machete in his hands his movements fast and calculated. There seemed to be no waste in his way of attack and retreat. Every littel move, every shift of weigh seemed to be a part of a greater plan.

The woman had another day if fighting, but she must be as good as him, figured Sloane. Her movements were wilder, more improvised and fluently. As if fighting was in her blood. Only a few minutes later the fight was over.

............

As soon as Hrsishi reached the new Vampire he knew that it would be hard to convince him of any rules or manners. The boy looked as if he was already way to much adapted to power and longlivity. The once soft and warm eyes seemed to be colder, when Hrishi met their look.

,,There are rules to be followed."began Hrishi slowly. His words were calm and neutral. There was accusation in them, but he still saw anger flashes over the boys expression.

,,I don't care. Who is going to stop me anyway? I will do what I do when and how I want to. No rules will stopp me."declared the boy with an astonishing arrogance. But thre was pain in this voice too. The pain of a boy who had lost his family.

His home.

His identity. And the loos of somone who didn't knew where they were heading. Hell Hrishi knew that the boy was probably trying to hide the fact, that he hadn't gotten a single clue what a Vampire was like.

,,There are other Vampires like you." Just a simple fact. And information, to get the boy down from his ego trip.

,,I figured that much."

,,There is only one rule." Or at least there was only one main rule that applied to Vampires. Of course there were many other rules that should be followed.......

But that was another lesson. A lesson that the boy would learn the hard way.

,,Then tell." A simple demand.

,,Don't kill another Vampire. That is our one rule." With these words Hrishi looked the boy in the eyes and turned slowly around. His back was now tuned to Calean.

,,No one will ever forgive you if you kill another Vampire. They won't care why you killed the other Vampire, they will just care about the fact that you did it. So don't ever kill another vampire." Hrishis voice was now stronger, more demanding.

That was the moment he heard the sound of movement from behind him. That was the moment he knew what was going to happen. He stood still. The moment Calean alomost reached him. He stood still.

Then Caleans body meet his. He was thrown down, pushed into the grass from Caleans body weigh. Still he didn't moved. Clears ripped over his skin, opening his back. Blood splashed out of his wounds. Still he didn't defend himself. I make a choice here, thought Hrishi.

I can't change what I am but still my choices define me. And this is what I choose. Blood started to flood over his body, wetting his clothes and turning them red. Not that he would die from these wounds.

Calean must know this too, or maybe he was just incredibly angry.

Still angry at Hrishi for killing his family. For turning Calean into a vampire. Into a monster. Into the monster that was killing Hrishi.

Calean claws went deeper know, leaving bigger wounds behind. Making the blood flood faster and more of it.

Hrishi still didn't moved. Of course there was pain shooting trough his body, but he still didn't defended himself.

He couldn't.

Not after he had done. Not after all the people he killed. When he finally felt the blood flood starting to get slower he began to calm completely down. This is it.

His heart seemed to make one last beat, after it had sodden still for so long. Then Hrishi died. For a short moment he felt at peace for himself.

After such a long time, he finally knew that he never would kill again. That finally he wasn't a monster anymore.

He was free. .

............

While Sliane died, killed by two soccers, she knew it had been the right choice. Nit because it was in any way a good choice. In fact it had been an incredible bad choice. But it had been her choice. Hers.

Not her father, not her mother, not the choice if society. It had been hers. And she took a strange kind of pride in that.

While blood flooded out of her and turned the grass around her red she began to feel numb. All feeling seemed to left her and the pain did too. I am not going to be a monster. She found peace in that.

She would never destroy familys or take lives.

When her life left her, she felt free.

Then all around her went dark.


End file.
